Skip to content Skip to navigation

Overburdening Burdened Children

The latest decision of the SEBA (Secondary Education Board of Assam) to make Hindi a compulsory subject for High School Leaving Certificate (Class X) examination would add to the percentage of failure for the Board. It is a torture to make a three-language formula to the already overburdened students. Already the two language structure (Assamese and English) is making things difficult for students in rural areas. How can they afford so many tuitions given that extra classes are a necessary evil to get a grasp of such voluminous curriculum of today!


The reasons cited by SEBA officials is that the move would equop the students of the state with a good skill over Hindi when they move to other places of the country Hindi being the national language. But this is very shortsighted decision. Reasons:



  1. Not all students from the villages and towns of Assam are going to Hindi belt to work. Many would go to the South Indian states. In that case, Tamil, Kanada, Telegu etc should also be made compulsory for the matriculation exam.

  2. What about those students who might land up in Germany or France? Should they appear for these languages for the High School Leaving Certificate Exam? What arrangements will the SEBA make for them?

  3. Hindi is not yet accepted by many pockets of India as the national language. But yes, it has become the language of Entertainment for most parts of India. More than Hindi subject in schools, it is through Bollywood films and songs and TV serials that Hindi has become entertainment language of India. As such, people can get elementary idea and even more by watching these Hindi programmes and listening to songs. There is no point of overburdening our already burdened children with three language formula.

  4. One needn’t be a Prem Chand to carry out daily activities in Hindi. Look at Mamata Banerjee, Pranab Mukherjee, or ministers from South India. They speak a heavily accented Hindi, yet they are holding the power posts in New Delhi.


I would like to request D. Mahanta, the secretary of SEBA and the academicians of the state to think over the matter and keep Hindi as an elective subject as it is till today.



Yours etc.,


Agastyi Barua
Guwahati

Comments

Pallavi Barua's picture

Our children would be Jack of all trades, but master of None. I vehemently oppose this decision of SEBA. Those who emmigrate to different parts of the world will learn the required languages at that point of time, when and where required. Already, the students in Assam are working hard on one non-native language English. And SEBA wants to add more! Come on, give them a break!
Agastyi's picture

When a piece of bread is thrown before a dog, it jumps and has it. When a piece of bread is thrown before a lion, it roars and attacks the one who throws the bread. In this case, the bread is Hindi, which the Central government declared as the 'national' language of India. Lion-like behaviour is shown by South India while dog-like behaviour is shown by North-East India. It has whatever is thrown at it by the Centre. Now, the latest organisation from the region to show such dog-like behaviour is the SEBA (Secondary Education Board of Assam). Unlike states like Tamil Nadu, this board of Assam plans to make Hindi a compulsory subject in class X exams.

Pages

Add new comment

Other Contents by Author

Asom IGP attached to the BIEO, Pradip Kumar, has been selected for President’s Police Medal for his outstanding service. SDPO Kamal Kumar Gupta, SI Ruhindra Nath Changmai, SI Naba Kumar Borah, constable Dhiraj Choudhury, constable Soda Tisso, ASP Ashim Swargiary, DSP Biraj Mohan Borooah and SI Jayanta Kalita have been named for police medals for gallantry, Prosecution Director/DIGP Promothesh Ranjan Das, SB ASI Abdul Quddos Khan, 10th APBn havildar Mahendra Saikia, SB head constable Jogen Chandra Sarma, 3rd APBn havildar Khiteswar Borah and APRO constable Lohit Basumatary have been selected for police medal for meritorious service.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has asked Chief Secretary PC Sarma to probe into the matter as to why Assam tableaux is not being put in this year’s Republic Day function in New Delhi and submit the report forthwith. According to sources, Mr Gogoi has taken the matter seriously and asked the Chief Secretary to probe into the matter to find out the lapses, if any, and to fix responsibility on the officials concerned.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has asked the Chief Secretary to set up a one-man inquiry committee headed by Principal Secretary PK Choudhury to probe into the reasons for the rise in incidents of poaching at the KNP and to make recommendations for prevention of such incidents in future as well as measures for effective protection of the park. At the directive of the Chief Minister, a 12-member assessment committee headed by Forest Commissioner and Secretary BB Hagjer was constituted on January 22 to probe into the killing of a female rhino and its calf at the KNP recently.
Defying ULFA diktat, amid an water tight security arrangement Assam is celebrating the Republic Day on Saturday along with the nation. The situation till now is by and large peaceful. There is no report of any incident from any place. Assam Governor Lt general (retd) Ajoy Kumar Singh has unfurled the national flag at the Judges' Field and inspected the guard off honour. In his address, the governor said Assam is marching in the path of progress and hope that peace will pave the way for development.
Dance guru Jatin Goswami and litterateurs Surya Hazarika and Shilla Pathak of Asom have been named for Padmashree awards.
IAF’s Western Air Command’s AOC-in-C Air Marshal Pranab Kumar Barbora is among the Param Vishist Seva Medal (PVSM) winners — PVSM is the highest peacetime military Presidential award. Barbora is the first from the North-east to receive this award. The award is being conferred to him by President Pratibha Patil on Friday.
The illegal felling of trees and illegal operation of Sawmills in Meghalaya has assumed such wide and significant proportion that the said illegal operation of saw mills and also illegal felling of trees has resulted in severe public outcry in the State. The common conscious citizens of the country have reasons to be anxious in the face of gross mismanagement of the entire forest cover and resources of the State. The entire episode has now attained higher proportions in view of some recent developments which prima facie reveal the intention of the authorities manning the affairs of the State to help in achievement of undue gains to a few individuals at the cost of the Environment, depleting...
Noted Karbi litterateur Rong Bong Terang and Vaishnavite scholar Sonaram Chutiya have been declared the recipients of the prestigious Madhabdev Award. According to information, minister for cultural affairs Gautom Bora will give away the awards to them at a function in Jorhat on Saturday.
Asom Sahitya Sabha is mired in yet another controversy with former secretary of the Sabha and the sitting president are lashing out at each other.Addressing a press conference in the city on Friday, Patgiri along with Satyendra Narayan Goswami, Krishna Rai Medhi, Dharani Goswami said the Asom Sahitya Sabha president Kanaksen Deka must quit the post for his involvement in some cases of extortion which is degrading the value of the state's largest literary body. Also they say there are some other cases which is why the Sabha officials have to hang their heads in shame. Therefore, they demanded Deka's resignation saying he had lost his moral rights.
Assam Association,Mumbai Celebrated Magh Bihu on 19/01/08.